Friday, March 27, 2015

Legislative Win: House and Senate Reach Agreement on Transportation Funding

The Chamber is pleased to report that the House and Senate
Conference Committee on S. 20 (IRC Update/Motor Fuel Tax Changes) reached an
agreement on the legislation. The new version of the bill will reduce the North
Carolina gas tax on April 1, 2015 from 37.5 cents/gallon to 36 cents/gallon.
The reduction in the state’s fuel tax will continue with a drop to 35
cents/gallon on January 1, 2016 and then to 34 cents/gallon on July 1, 2016.

Legislative leaders expressed a desire to not stop with S.
20 in our need to fix transportation funding in North Carolina. Leadership
expressed a desire to develop a long-term funding fix for transportation before
2016.

The Chamber applauds House and Senate leadership’s ability
to find compromise and fund NC’s infrastructure. The Chamber projected a $20
million reduction in transportation funding for Buncombe County if action was
not taken on the bill before July 1. We will now be working to promote long-term,
sustainable infrastructure funding in the months to come.

I also wanted to make everyone aware of the legislation we
are tracking.
Please, let us know if you have any questions or would like to see a bill
included in the list.

Finally, reservations are almost gone for the WNC Chamber’s
Raleigh Legislative Visit. This is a great chance to thank our WNC Delegation,
hear from House and Senate Leader, learn about regional transportation projects
from NC DOT, meet the leaders of NC Department of Commerce’s new Public Private
Partnership, and network with business leaders from across Western North
Carolina. You can register for the event by clicker here.